


At Any Cost

by Pidgeapodge



Series: The Royal Dorks [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Cute, Cute Kids, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Love, Mai (Avatar) is a Good Mom, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgeapodge/pseuds/Pidgeapodge
Summary: Mai knew right then and there that she would protect Izumi at any cost. She would go to the ends of the earth for Izumi. If need be, she wouldkillfor Izumi.And woe befall anyone who would dare to hurt the precious creature in Mai’s arms.
Relationships: Izumi & Mai (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (background)
Series: The Royal Dorks [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012743
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122





	At Any Cost

As Mai held her baby girl for the first time, she fell in love.

She thought she knew what love was. She betrayed Azula for love, after all. But the love she felt for the tiny newborn in her arms dwarfed anything she ever thought she knew. 

Izumi. She was perfect. Her little, almost bald head, covered with black fuzz. Her chubby, squishy cheeks. Her little nubbin nose. Her large eyes. Her little mouth, with her tongue sticking ever so slightly out while she slept. 

Mai held Izumi against her chest. Zuko had passed out next to her, looking at their little girl until his eyes finally shut and his breathing evened out. Mai, however, couldn’t go to sleep. Not yet. 

She was too busy listening to Izumi’s soft breathing.

Spirits, she was so  _ tiny _ . And soft. And delicate. 

Mai couldn’t believe she made such a small, squishy, stunning thing. And she knew right then and there that she would protect Izumi at any cost. She would go to the ends of the earth for Izumi. If need be, she would  _ kill _ for Izumi.

And woe befall anyone who would dare to hurt the precious creature in Mai’s arms. 

* * *

Mai woke up to the patter of tiny feet in their room. 

“Wha’s wrong? Who’s there?” said Mai.

Seven-year-old Izumi appeared on Mai’s side of the bed. 

“Mommy, I had a bad dream.”

Mai calmed down. Izumi’s room was right next to Mai and Zuko’s room, and for security reasons there was a door that went directly between the two rooms so they could easily access the princess in the event of an emergency. 

Sometimes, Izumi used it for easy access to her parents’ room. 

“Come here, baby.” Mai held her arms out as Izumi wiggled into their bed. “What’s wrong?” 

“I… I dreamed that the Blue Spirit came in here and chased me…”

May hugged Izumi to her chest and stroked her wavy raven hair. It was soft and fluffy, like Zuko’s. She sighed. The Blue Spirit had become a sort of urban legend, and Izumi had told them that some kid at school told her about him.

“But I’m not scared!” Izumi had proudly claimed at dinner. 

It was clear now that her bravado had run out. 

“Oh, Turtleduck,” cooed Mai as Izumi shifted to better hold onto her, “you have nothing to worry about. The Blue Spirit would never dare hurt us.”

“How do you know?” asked Izumi.

“Because I’ve met the Blue Spirit,” said Mai. “The stories about him get him all wrong. He did do some bad things, but he’s a much better person now.”

“Really?”

“Really, baby.” Mai thought it would be better for Zuko to tell Izumi the full story of the Blue Spirit. It was his story to tell, after all.

“Besides, this palace has the best guards. And if anyone,  _ anyone _ , ever tried to hurt you, they would have to get through me first. And I’d never, ever, ever let anyone hurt you.”

Mai felt Izumi hug tighter.

“Can I sleep in here with you?” Izumi asked.

“Of course, baby.” Mai shifted so that Izumi was between her and Zuko, and kissed Izumi’s forehead. 

“I love you, baby. Never forget that.”

“I love you too, Mommy.”

* * *

“Your Majesties! The princess!”

Mai and Zuko immediately jumped out of their bed and ran to the door that connected Izumi’s room with their own. Zuko reached the door first, while Mai quickly grabbed her knives and wrist holsters. 

Throwing open the door, they dodged firebending attacks from two assailants dressed in black. Zuko shot fire right back at the intruder on the left, while Mai pinned the other to the wall with stilettos from her wrist launcher. The door that led to the hallway was open, and the guards for Izumi’s room were unconscious on the floor. Fighting could be heard in the hallway. To Mai’s right, the window was wide open and the curtains fluttered. 

Izumi’s bed was empty. 

“Zuko! Follow me!” Mai wasted no time in leaping up into the window to see where the kidnappers had gone. 

In the palace courtyard, she could see three figures in black carrying the twelve-year-old princess away from the palace. 

Mai leapt from the second-story window and landed in a roll on the grass below. She ignored the ache in her bones telling her she was too old for this, the uncomfortable tickle of dewdrops on her bare feet, the sticks and grass in her hair. 

They took her baby. 

They would pay. 

Mai sprinted after the intruders, Zuko right behind her. 

“Halt! Stop right there!” she called.

The kidnappers ran faster.

“Mom! Dad! Help!” cried Izumi. Her arms and legs flopped uselessly as she was carried over the shoulder of one of the brutes. She had been chi-blocked. 

Mai’s legs surged with adrenaline, keeping the intruders in sight. 

“Close your eyes, Zumi!” She didn’t want Izumi to see this. 

Izumi shut her eyes.

Mai whipped her arm out, flicking her wrist and letting three knives fly true. She knew exactly how skilled she was, and that she wouldn’t hit Izumi. If she could pin people to the walls by their clothes, she could do this without hitting her daughter.

_ Thump! Thump! Thump! _ Three knives hit their marks. 

The three kidnapper’s legs gave out underneath them as their brain stems were severed from the rest of their bodies. The knives had hit each of them at the base of the skull, where the neck connected to the head, and buried themselves into their spinal chords. 

The kidnappers pitched forward and flopped on the ground face first, dead before they even hit the grass. They didn’t even have a chance to cry out. 

May kept running. “Keep your eyes closed, baby!” 

She reached Izumi, who still had her eyes screwed shut. Mai immediately picked the scared and temporarily paralyzed princess off of the ground and started bringing her back towards Zuko.

“Mommy… Mommy…” Izumi whispered, tears falling from her still-shut eyes.

“Shhh. It’s okay. Mommy’s got you. You’re safe. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

Zuko ran up to Mai and wrapped them both in his arms. Izumi began to cry, and her parents consoled her even as tears slipped from their own eyes. It was okay. They were okay. They were safe.

The surviving intruders would be interrogated to find out that their main mission was to assassinate the Fire Lord. In case that was unsuccessful (the assassins didn’t even make it to the door of Zuko’s room), another team would kidnap the princess to hold her for ransom. 

But that was unimportant. The important thing was that Mai’s family was safe. Her thoughts flashed briefly to the three dead men in the courtyard, but she easily dismissed it. They had made their choice. They tried to hurt her little girl. They had only themselves to blame for their deaths.

Mai swore twelve years ago to protect Izumi at any cost. She had just made good on that promise.

Mai kissed Izumi on the top of her head. Izumi’s hair still smelled like shampoo.

“I love you, Turtleduck,” whispered Mai. “Anyone who tries to hurt you will be sorry as long as I’m here.”

Izumi trembled, still crying and clutching at her parent’s nightshirts. Mai hugged her tighter. 

She would always protect her little baby. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I figured we needed more "Mai being a good and loving mother" content. 
> 
> In this house, we love and respect Mai.
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Please let me know what you think! :)


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